The present invention relates generally to recycling, and more particularly, to a recycling machine which includes a system for compacting recyclable containers of various shape and size.
With problems such as pollution, limited natural resources, and the ever-increasing cost of most materials, more and more people are looking toward recycling as a way of improving the world in which they live. For example, many states have enacted legislation which requires that beverage containers carry a redemption deposit as a technique for encouraging recycling and discouraging littering. In other states, there have been extensive efforts to encourage voluntary recycling of beverage containers, even in the absence of required redemption deposits. As such, there has developed a need for efficient systems whereby beverage containers such as metal cans, plastic bottles, and glass bottles may efficiently be processed.
In the past, recycling centers (e.g., retail stores) have had to utilize personnel to sort and count returned containers so that such containers could be properly compacted, or returned to the proper distributor for redemption. This arrangement also has required devotion of an inordinate proportion of the available floor space to the collection, sorting, counting, compacting and storage of the various types of containers which are recycled. Recycling thus has proven unacceptably expensive. Recycling centers thus have sought an all-in-one recycling machine capable of accepting various types of containers for selected compacting and storage operations. Container redeemers also have sought a recycling machine capable of compacting and storing containers based on the type of container provided. To this end, there has been a flurry of activity in the development of conveniently used recycling machines and techniques for the intake, or reverse vending, of recyclable containers such as bottles and cans.
One particularly useful reverse vending machine is illustrated and described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,653,627, which issued on Mar. 31, 1987 to Hampson et al. That patent discloses a reverse vending machine which provides for the separation, counting and crushing of beverage containers of a predetermined type. The machine is specifically adapted for use in redemption of containers having a known size and having a composition which is similarly known. The invention was improved upon by a machine including a rotary-bristle drive scanning station which aids in accurately identifying containers which are redeemed. That machine is set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 5,273,149, which issued on Dec. 28, 1993 to Aldrich et al. Both of these inventions are commonly owned with the present invention and are incorporated herein by this reference thereto.
Although the aforementioned reverse vending machines have proven extremely effective in the recycling of cans, and particularly in the redemption of standard-size beverage cans, such machines have not addressed the more diverse redemption needs of most recycling centers. What is needed is a machine capable of redeeming various size and style containers, all in a single machine. It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an improved recycling machine wherein containers of different character may be reliably identified and compacted for storage in an appropriate storage bin.
As will be evident from the following description, the invented recycling machine compacts containers using a multi-purpose compacting system which includes a roller assembly having a roller configured to draw containers through an adjustable container-receiving throat. The compacting system also includes a base plate assembly with a movable base plate which at least partially defines the throat, the base plate being mounted for movement between a first orientation wherein the base plate is a first predetermined distance from the roller so as to define an open container-receiving throat, and a second orientation wherein the base plate is a second lesser predetermined distance from the roller so as to close the container-receiving throat. The throat typically is closed as the container passes between the roller and the base plate so as to compact the container therebetween.
In the preferred embodiment, the roller includes a cam mounted for rotation with the roller, the cam being configured to effect pivot of the base plate so as to open and close the container-receiving throat. Correspondingly, the base plate assembly includes a cam follower which is secured to the base plate, the cam follower being adapted to ride on the cam as the roller rotates. The cam is eccentric, and is contoured to reciprocate the base plate gradually between a open-throat first orientation and a closed-throat second orientation with each revolution of the roller. Preferably, the cam is divided into four equal quadrants, including a withdraw region whereby the cam provides for movement of the base plate toward the first orientation, a first dwell region whereby the cam maintains the base plate in the first orientation, an advance region whereby the cam provides for movement of the cam toward the second orientation, and a second dwell region whereby the cam maintains the base plate in the second orientation.
The recycling machine typically includes a frame having an on-load station which receives containers lengthwise along a feed axis, the on-load station housing a pair of rollers which impart axial-rotary motion to a fed container so that it may be identified by an adjacent sensor. A conveyer mechanism directs the identified container from the on-load station to a container compactor which corresponds to the container type. The container then is compacted and stored in an appropriate bin.
These and other objects and advantages of the instant invention will become more fully apparent as the description which follows is read in conjunction with the appended drawings and the claims.